Biesenblog
Riveting Insights on Communication, Storytelling and Presentation Skills
How to Get a Free Preview Copy of My New Book
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for yourself? How about a free copy of my new book, 11 Deadly Presentation Sins? For Subscribers Only This week I'll be giving a sneak preview of the book for subscribers to my email list. If you join by tomorrow, you'll get all...
7 Reasons Defenders of The Sound Of Music Live Are WRONG
Like millions of Americans last week, I took to social media to heap scorn upon The Sound of Music Live. We are now in that next predictable phase of pop culture ephemera: the backlash to the backlash, wherein the production's defenders scold its attackers. So it's...
Storytelling Tips from JFK: Make the Abstract Meaningful
President Kennedy's iconic "we choose to go to the moon" speech, which I watched the other day near the anniversary of his death, offers important storytelling tips for anyone trying to explain complex ideas to a general audience. Watch the video (or read the speech...
Don’t be the Client from Hell This Holiday Season!
The client from Hell, the boss from Hell—there are many permutations of this phenomenon. But sometimes the holiday season brings out the worst in us. End of the Year Rush In the marketing and PR world, this is the time of year when clients find unused money in their...
Toward a Grand Unified Theory of Storytelling
On Monday I led a 90-minute storytelling workshop in New York for a CEO and his direct reports. They were trying to work out how to rally and unite their employees, but I came away with something, too: what I'm modestly calling A Grand Unified Theory of Storytelling....
Presenting as a Group: 6 Tips for a Successful Pitch
Public speaking can be nerve-wracking enough, but presenting as a group adds a whole new level of anxiety to the process. And when the presentation is a new business pitch, that really raises the stakes. Organizing a group presentation can be like herding cats, only...
Storytelling Hits and Misses at the Rock Hall of Fame
Last week I was in Cleveland visiting family and I finally got to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (+Museum). I really did enjoy it and I appreciated what they did, but I came away feeling they could do a much, much better job telling the story of "the world's most...
How to Write a Eulogy and Deliver It: 10 Tips
Last month, on the first anniversary of my father's death, I wrote a post called How to Write a Eulogy. My main points then still apply: First and foremost, speak from the heart. If it's meaningful to you, it will be meaningful to others. Ignore the "rules." There is...
A Tale of Two Jerks and the Illusion of Privacy
The Internet and mobile technology didn't invent bad behavior, but they sure have exacerbated it. That's been vividly illustrated in two stories that broke this week. Together they offer a cautionary tale about the limits of anonymity and privacy in the modern world....
How to Conquer Stage Fright: 10 Tips for Presenters
When I talk to audiences about presentation skills, the #1 question I get is how to handle stage fright. I've written about it before but it keeps coming up. And the more I read and listen, the more I learn. So here are my newly expanded Top 10 tips for handling the...
Stupid Marketing Tricks: My Fatal Five
I'm not a particularly difficult person to get along with, but there are certain practices in the marketing and PR field that give us all a bad name. They rise to the level of Stupid Marketing Tricks. So whether you're marketing your business or just marketing...
11 Deadly Presentation Sins: Watch for Free!
Are you stuck in PowerPoint Hell? Or putting others through it? You'll find absolution here. Check out this free webinar I did for Georgetown University: 11 Deadly Presentation Sins: A Path to Redemption for Public Speakers. It's a simple YouTube video, but they don't...
